Tutorial - Using effects - Compression

Beginner
Believe it or not, compression is one of the most important processors in your sonic
arsenal. You don't have to take our word for it - any producer or engineer will tell you
the same. In fact, it's so important that even Cubase now has its own built in.

Clever use of compression can make your track sound more professional and, best of
all, louder - and a track which appears to be louder is more likely to grab a listener's What you'll need: PC/MAC
attention - just ask anybody who's ever listened to The Prodigy. But before you can use Any Sequencer and any
one properly, first you have to understand the fundamental principles of how a compressor plug-in or
compressor works its magic. even hardware unit.

Simply put, it reduces the difference between the loudest
and quietest parts of a piece of music as well as
preventing any signal peaks which could lead to
unwelcome distortion. When mixing a typical pop music
track together, it's the kick drum and bassline which are
the most difficult to get to 'sit right' in the mix, as they
have a tendency to predominate, making it difficult for
other incidental sounds and vocals to filter through.
We've all been in this situation: turning down the
bassline makes the track lose its 'groove', but turning up
the other instruments seems to swamp the mix with
much the same results...
This is where compression comes in, and with careful
settings you can compress just the bass and kick drum,
which leaves the rest of the instruments to filter through
untouched and therefore become more noticeable.
For this walkthrough we'll be showing you the
fundamental principles you can use to make your track
sound louder, brighter, punchier, warmer, fitter, more
productive... sorry, where were we?
There's no doubt that these compression techniques will
make your tracks sound more 'professional' but they are
just guidelines, and, as always, it's up to you and your
ears to decide which are the best settings to use with
your music. So lets get started....

Compression Techniques, 1 to 18

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Tutorial - Using effects - Compression
Back to the tutorial introduction
Compression Techniques - Steps 1-6
* click images to enlarge...
Compressing a full mix is down to personal
preference. We're going to be compressing some
individual tracks first and then finish by throwing a
compressor across the entire mix. Start by calling up your
sequencer and compressor then select your drum track.
Both kick and snare need to be compressed pretty
heavily, partly because that they take up a large
amount of a mix, but also to give the kick a deep
floorshaking thud and the snare a snappy sound. The ratio
should be set between 5:1 and 8:1.
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We'll start by adjusting the Threshold - set it to
around -15dB. This will allow any light percussive
instruments to filter through untouched but the kick and
snare, which are above the threshold point, will be
compressed by the amount we set at the ratio.
The attack setting determines how long it will take the
compressor to reach its full ratio of compression after
it passes our threshold point. Set the attack to around
5ms. This will let the initial sound through untouched and
compress the remainder for a fuller sound
Tutorial - Using effects - Compression

Release sets how long it takes for the compressor to
come back to its normal, uncompressed state. With
drums this has to be set pretty short, otherwise the
compressor will not have had time to recover before the
next kick. Set it at around 10ms, or leave it on auto
Now that we've finished compressing the drums, they
should have fallen in overall volume. This is where we
need to use the make-up gain to bring it back up to an
acceptable level, this needs to be set on a personnel
preference for your music, we've set it at 7.0dB.

Compression Techniques - Steps 7 - 12

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Tutorial - Using effects - Compression
Back to the tutorial introduction
Compression Techniques - Steps 7-12
* click images to enlarge...
Vocals are next. They don't need lots of compression
as we'll be working with them some more when it
comes to compressing the full mix, but we still need to
compress them to prevent any peaks filtering through.
Select your vocal track and open up another compressor.
For vocals you need to use the fastest attack that your
unit will allow along with the fastest release. It's
better to use an auto setting for release (if there is one)
than to set it up yourself, as it will change automatically to
suit. Use the make-up gain to adjust the volume.
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Between 3 and 8dB is a 'standard' threshold setting Ð
however, which you choose depends on your singer's
style and gender. Female vocalists usually require more
compression than male. Set it around -5.5dB, with a ratio
of 4:1 - just enough to stop any signal peaks filtering
through.
Compressing a bassline depends on whether it's
synthetic or real. A real bass requires a lot more
compression, so we'll start by compressing this one first.
The threshold should be set between -2dB and -10dB. For
a more dubby sounding bass set the threshold to -9dB.
Tutorial - Using effects - Compression

A pretty high ratio is needed to prevent the bass from
dominating the mix, so set the ratio to 8:1. If there is
an initial 'plucking' to the bassline, use an attack of 8ms
with a release of 10ms, as this will allow the plucking
sound through untouched.
A synthetic bassline needs a little less compression, as
it's already heavily compressed at the source, but with
careful settings it's possible to make it a little louder and
more noticeable without swamping your mix. Set the
threshold at -4dB, with a ratio of 4:1.

Compression Techniques - Steps 13 - 18

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Tutorial - Using effects - Compression
Back to the tutorial introduction
Compression Techniques - Steps 13-18
* click images to enlarge...
Again, if there is a filter 'pluck' at the beginning of the
note, we want to let it through and only compress the
rest of the note, so set the attack at 6ms - less if there
isn't a 'pluck'. Then set the release at around 10ms, or
preferably set it to auto.
Last up, before we get to compressing the full mix,
are the acoustic guitars. For these, set the threshold
at -14dB, with a ratio of 8:1. Again, if there are any
plucking sounds, we don't want to compress them, so set
the attack to around 4ms with an auto or very short
release.
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Brass and wind instruments also benefit from some
slight compression to reduce any peaks in the signal
and help them sit better in the mix. Set the threshold at -
14dB with a ratio of 8:1, a fast attack of around 2ms and
again a quick release of 10ms. Again, auto will work.
Pad and sweeping sounds don't need compression as
these will already be heavily compressed and won't be
at the front of the mix. But we will add a little compression
when we come to the full mix. Now we need to mix down
the track again and set all our levels and EQ.
Tutorial - Using effects - Compression

For the final compression we're strapping Waves RCL
across the full mix. Set the threshold to around -9dB
with a ratio of 2:1 and a quick attack and release. This will
compress most of the instruments except the vocal line,
which can then sit at the front of the mix.
If you're after a warmer sounding compression, then
feed the mix out to a distortion or amp simulation unit
with a very low setting, then return it to the compressor.
Using distortion helps to add harmonics which can result in
a warmer sounding mix.

Back to the start

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